Five Reasons to Eat Organic Apples: Pesticides, Healthy Communities, and You

There are good reasons to eat organic and locally raised fruits and vegetables. For one, they usually taste better and are a whole lot fresher. Yet most of us can't afford to buy all our food at the farmer's market or natural foods store, and in many places, locally produced and organic foods are a struggle to find.

So if you can only buy a few organic fruits and vegetables - which should should it be? Which single piece of produce could have the greatest impact on agriculture, the environment and your family's health, all at once?

The data says: apples

Reason #1: The average conventionally grown apple has more pesticide residue on it than any other fruit or vegetable.

According to the Environmental Working Group's analysis of USDA data, pesticides showed up on 98 percent of the more than 700 apple samples tested (yes, they were washed). And it wasn't just one pesticide either - apples from around the country, domestically grown and imported, were found to have up to 48 different kinds of pesticides on them. While less than the 69 types used on cucumbers, that's still far more than the single pesticide found in sweet corn (shucked) or the 15 on oranges (peeled).

Reason #2: We are not quite sure what some of those pesticides do to humans or the environment.

Apples are commonly sprayed with Syngenta's Paraquat, a pesticide under scrutiny for a possible link to Parkinson's disease. Additionally, apple growers in Michigan received an exemption for the last three years (and have recently applied again) for "emergency use" of the unapproved antibiotic kasugamycin. While not an antibiotic currently in use by humans, data on its affects on ground water and animal reproduction and development are not known.

Additionally, several new studies question if even allowable levels of pesticides do harm to humans, particularly organophosphates - substances the USDA reports are found on 81 percent of all conventionally grown apples.

Reason #3: Farm owners and workers like to live and work in safe environments too.

Even if the pesticide residues break down and are no longer found on the apple when you purchase it, those who spray the pesticides, and their communities, are affected by the chemicals directly.

The USDA’s 2007 Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) of organic apple producers found that most farms chose organic methods because they could increase their income. But many also said they grew organic apples primarily to protect the health of their families and of the community, and because many wanted to adopt more environmentally friendly practices.

"...pesticide-related illness is an important cause of acute morbidity among migrant farm workers in California. A few categories (organophosphates and carbamates, inorganic compounds, and pyrethroids) account for over half of the cases of acute illness....Growers should be educated about alternative forms of pest control and incentives should be provided to encourage their use."

According to the USDA, in addition to the 81 percent of conventional apple orchards which spray organophosphates on apple orchards, carbamates and pyrethroids are also used nation wide (on 35% and 29% of fields, respectively). Chlorpyrifos, a chemical linked to lowered IQ and higher incidence of ADHD in children is also still sprayed on 59 percent of apple orchards in the U.S., endangering the general public and those children living in rural areas.

Reason #4: Apples are one of the country's favorite fruits - and eating more organic apples could immediately impact farming.

Not only is apple pie American, so are apples. The third most consumed fruit in the U.S. (next to oranges and grapes), apples generate $2.2 billion a year. 350,000 acres in the U.S. are dedicated to growing the fruit, and apples can be grown in all 50 states, although 60 percent of them are currently grown in Washington.

Yet organic orchards currently account for only 6 percent of apple acreage in the country, even though organic apples are one of the most popular organic fruits. Of the 21,000 acres of land in organic apple production, 16,000 are in Washington (13,000 acres) and California (3000 acres).

This means there is great opportunity for a simple change in America's eating habits to quickly impact the farming industry. If each person in the U.S. ate only a few more organic apples each month, that would translate into more opportunity for farmers to convert to organic growing methods. And because the ubiquitous apple grows in all 50 states, this means there is also opportunity to immediately increase local organic farming as well, allowing more farmers to generate income in their own communities.

Reason #5 Organic apples don't cost an arm and a leg, and are a great snack.

The cost of an organic apple can be as high as $2.99 a pound and as low as $.99. And at about 1/2 of a pound a piece - that means the most expensive organic apples you can buy would run you only $1.50 a pop. Eating five of them a month would be only $90 a year - a cost most American households can bear. (Although this is more apples than most households currently consume - a discussion for another article perhaps).

But the implications of this are huge. If only a quarter of the public switched to buying and eating organic apples, more than $7 billion a year would be generated to support local organic farming. That is a substantial chunk of change to convince more farmers to take on the costly transition to organic production.

So what if you can't get organic apples in your supermarket? Ask for them. It is more work for grocery stores to deal with many small farms selling apples, than with large distributors. But if organic local apples are what the public demands, stores will go the distance to supply them.

An apple a day, it turns out, can do far more than just keep the doctor away.